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Hesitantly, Pete reached for my hand and looped his finger around one of mine before he darted towards his giggling friends.
“Last night…was amazing.” Suzette’s husky whisper caught my attention. As she trailed her fingers from his chest down to his definition of his lower abdomen, a cocky mien returned to Jake’s face.
“And you might have yourself a repeat performance,” he told her with a hint of humor in his voice.
***
MRS. MULDOON’S OFFICE WAS covered in collages from various children. All sorts of toys and drawings covered her desk. She had faint lines on the corners of her deep forest-green eyes and a long emerald skirt that complemented them. Her gray hair was half down. I couldn’t imagine her without gray hair. She was one of those women who looked stunning with her aging hair.
“Thank you for seeing me, Mrs. Muldoon.”
“It’s always a pleasure to get a visit from my former students.” Her face warmed. “Good to see you’re still friends with Jake and Mariska.”
“Yes, it’s good,” I agreed.
“Take a seat.”
I complied and sat on the chair opposite me. “Your résumé and letters of reference make for a stand-out application. Unfortunately, we don’t have any openings at this time.”
She slid me a discomfited glance. My stomach clenched. Had I upset her? And if there weren’t any openings, then why did she ask me to sit down like we were going to have tea? It was pretty busy on the main floor.
“There’s something you should know.”
I cleared my throat. “Yes, Mrs. Muldoon.”
For an inordinate amount of time, she was silent, and then she said, “Your mom left town with John Baxter.”
I shot up from the chair, feeling the blood drain from my face. “But he’s married.”
Her mouth thinned grimly and my knees felt weak as I sank back onto the seat. “And understandably, Mrs. Baxter is beyond irate. I’d only found out because Denise, who cashiers at the Oscar gas station, had seen them kissing each other yesterday morning before they left town. She’d told…some people.”
Obviously, Denise had told everyone. Right after her mom, Opal, Denise was the biggest gossip in town. I was surprised I hadn’t found out about Cindy and Mr. Baxter as soon as I’d arrived home last night.
Out of all of the things that I thought Cindy was capable of, I really hadn’t thought that she was capable of being with a married man. Maybe I was naïve. One of the Baxter kids was playing with Pete as we were speaking. This was messed up. As a little girl, Cindy had told me countless times that family was important and that women needed to stand by each other. She had violated those principles. And I had to suppress the bile in my throat. The Baxter kids probably wouldn’t see their dad often or at all. I understood how not having a consistent male presence could make a kid feel lacking in some way. And the scandal about why Mr. Baxter left town would make the Baxter kids feel like they weren’t enough reason for him to stay.
Ireful, I fisted the sides of my slacks in order to maintain some composure. It wasn’t the messenger’s fault. Mrs. Muldoon had been my pre-school and afterschool teacher in my youth. She was doing me a favor by informing me before someone else did. And, yet, it wasn’t comforting at all.
My voice dropped. “Isn’t he always on the road?”
“He stopped trucking”—she waved her hand—“about five months ago when he was promoted to regional manager. All folks ’round here know is that the position is in Florida, but we don’t know exactly where.”
I sighed, releasing the sides of my slacks from my hands. “Goodness,” I hissed.
She blew out a ragged breath and crossed her arms at her employees, who were obviously watching us through her wide window; immediately, they acted like they were busy watching the children, like they should’ve been doing in the first place. Jake no longer had Suzette with him. He gave me a reassuring nod, which meant that he had just heard the news too. “I didn’t want you going around town unawares.”
I managed a small grin. Mrs. Muldoon could lose some business if she hired me. I knew she would. And despite Franklin Parks being a small town, there were one or two housewives with just as good of a reputation as her who would happily take business from her.
“I’ve been in touch with your Uncle Anton recently.”
“Ummm…okay,” I murmured. “I haven’t seen him for years.”
Mrs. Muldoon handed me his business card. “And he wants that to change.”
